CONTACT:
Lieutenant Mark Ober
603-788-4850
603-271-3361
August 1, 2022
Thompson & Meserves Purchase, NH – At approximately 1:15 p.m., a Fish and Game Conservation Officer received a 911 call reporting that a male hiker had been found unconscious and not breathing on the Jewell Trail near the Gulfside Trail Junction. A group of hikers had come upon the unresponsive man and quickly called 911 and started performing CPR.
The weather conditions were cold and windy with the high peaks and trails socked in by clouds. A rescue response was initiated with a call for volunteers from Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue (AVSAR) and Pemi Valley Search and Rescue (PEMI SAR). In addition, a call was made to the Cog Railway staff who offered to provide a train to help relay rescuers up from the Base Station side.
AVSAR members utilized the Mt. Washington Auto Road to access the summit of Mt. Washington and hiked down to the victim. PEMI SAR members rode up the Cog Railway train and hiked across to the victim.
Unfortunately despite all efforts the hiker did not survive. The Good Samaritan hikers performed CPR for 40 minutes, but with no signs of life and with freezing temperature and high winds, resuscitation efforts were ceased. AVSAR and PEMI SAR members carried the body nearly a mile across Gulfside Trail to the Cog Railway where he was placed in the train and transported to the base.
The hiker, whose name is being withheld pending notification of family members, was hiking with his dog when he collapsed. The dog is safe and was taken down the Jewell Trail by other hikers and placed in the care of a local animal shelter until it can be reunited with family members.
No other information available at this time.